U.S. Hispanics are known for being brand loyal from generation to generation. As they are big believers in word of mouth, they can be the best ambassadors of your brand. However, they can be more particularly loyal to specific brands and/or categories, especially at certain stages of their acculturation levels.
Based on a study from ThinkNow Research, 30% of Hispanics and 29% of non-Hispanics said they “always” buy the same brand, across all seven selected product types. “Always” and “mostly” were chosen 56% of the time by U.S. Hispanics, compared to 58% of non-Hispanics. This research was focused on 7 products: laundry detergent, toilet paper, pasta sauce, bottled water, dishwashing soap, toothpaste, and orange juice.
When favorite brands aren’t on the shelves at the supermarket or grocery stores, Hispanics and non-Hispanics responded differently. 26 % of Hispanics reported that they would go to another store to buy their ideal brand, compared to 16% of non-Hispanics. And since Hispanics tend to make fewer shopping trips but are likely to spend more per trip, capturing brand loyalty and becoming their shopping destination of choice is essential.
As much as we want to contrast Hispanic consumers to non-Hispanic consumers, at least when it comes to brand loyalty across common household goods, the truth is, there are a lot more similarities than differences. But despite brand preferences, for the U.S. Hispanic consumer, loyalty ultimately lies with the brands that successfully tap into what drives their purchase decisions in the first place: cultural relevancy.
It is important to understand that brands can’t take Hispanic audiences for granted. They exhibit loyalty to brands that develop some kind of meaningful campaign with relevant content. This is the key to connect with them.
Research also showed that when it comes to brand loyalty among U.S. Hispanics, the least acculturated Latinos (47%) are far more loyal than bicultural (38%) and acculturated U.S. Hispanics (34%). This shows that acculturation levels play an important role on brand loyalty and that the Hispanic market is not as homogeneous as some marketers think.
The question is: As marketers customize their campaigns to account for regionalism and use different strategies to successfully reach moms, singles, the youth market, and the affluent, why not do the same for Hispanics? All current research proves it’s a fact: culturally relevant marketing can pay off substantially.
